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Richard Bernal

Ambassador Richard Bernal is Pro Vice Chancellor Global Affairs of the University of the West Indies. He is an Economist with over 40 years of experience. He is a Senior Associate of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC and a member of the World Bank External Advisory Panel on Diversity and Inclusion. He was a member of the Broad of Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (2008-2016). He is one of the 50 Distinguished Graduates of the University of the West Indies.

Ambassador Bernal has worked at the Bank of Jamaica (Central Bank); the Planning Institute of Jamaica and as Advisor to the Minister of Finance, Jamaica, on external debt management stabilization and adjustment policy. He has also served as Director-General of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM) for 8 years with responsibility for trade negotiations for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Cuba and the Dominican Republic. He was Principal Negotiator for Forum of Caribbean States (CARIFORUM) in the negotiation of the CARIFORUM-European Union Economic Partnership Agreement and CARICOM’s lead negotiator and spokesperson in the World Trade Organization and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations.

Ambassador. Bernal was Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States of America and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) between 1991 and 2001. During his time in Washington, he also served as Dean of the Caribbean Diplomatic Corps. Ambassador Bernal has given testimonies to several Committees of Congress (House and Senate) and the US International Trade Commission on issues of concern to the Caribbean.

For 7 years he taught International Economics and Development Economics at the Mona Campus, the University of the West Indies. He is Honorary Professor at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) of the UWI.

Ambassador Bernal has published three books, over 100 articles in scholarly journals and many monographs.

Pro Vice Chancellor Global Affairs, The University of the West Indies.